What is a chef de partie? they can also be known as a section/station chef or line cook. This chef will be in charge of a particular section within the restaurant’s kitchen.
In the larger establishments with busier kitchens, they may have an assistant (demi) or a couple of assistants. And also working with a chef de rang who works the front of house staff.
What Is A Chef De Partie? A Job Description, Main Duties And Responsibilities.
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- The 3 Levels Of A Chef de Partie
- Job Description, Duties And Responsibilities
- The Average Salary Of A CDP
- The Main Kitchen Positions
- Tips When Applying For A Position
What Is A Chef De Partie? The Definition And Meaning
However, in most kitchens, the chef de partie will be running a section on his/her own. Chef de parties are often divided into an experience level with the levels being: Demi cdp, cdp and a senior cdp on the chef career path.
“CDPs will be working their way up from a commis chef.”
What is a chef de partie? There are three main levels:
Demi
The demi chef de partie is the assistant of the chef de partie, therefore, will mostly be learning the same duties and responsibilities as the chef de partie.
Chef de partie
The chef will be in charge of a particular section of the kitchen. Within some kitchens, the chef de partie will be rotated around the kitchen. Due to this the chef will learn and develop their skills in each section.
Senior
This is a chef who will have a great deal of experience. Also, they will have proved themselves as excellent/experienced cdp. Also, they will be well on their way to a sous chef position.
A cdp will be employed by an establishment that uses a commercial-grade kitchen, which will include a restaurant, hotel, or cruise ship.
What are the key qualities of a chef de partie?
Key qualities they will need to possess include the ability to delegate jobs. Directing junior members of staff in an authoritative manner.
Also, they need to use the experience they have gained whilst working within their speciality, therefore being able to successfully teach and mentor junior members of staff.
A Chef De Partie Job Description, Their Responsibilities And Duties.
The most common establishments where the chef will be employed will be a restaurant and hotels followed by cruise ships.
The position comes with a lot of responsibilities and duties.
The CDP will be running a specific section but will also be assisting the sous/head chef in creating new dishes.
Chefs who are successful in this position will quickly gain an in-depth familiarity with their section operations. And will be able to resolve any problems that may occur on the job.
What Are CDPs Responsible For?
They will be responsible for the preparation and cooking of the food. Also, another job will include the plating of dishes in the starter section.
Also, they will be keeping their section staff organised, and training any new demi-chefs. Furthermore, they will make sure all the food is cooked to the customer’s expectations to the best level of quality possible to keep the customers happy.
They will also be responsible for any other duties laid out within the chef de partie job description following the company’s policies.
Within the role, the chef will be overseeing a specific section of the kitchen. Sections will include pastry, sauce, fish or vegetable section.
Furthermore, for this reason, they may be known as a section chef due to the variety of sections they can work on.
In the busier kitchens, you will usually get help from a demi-chef, commis chef or trainee chef.
What are the key responsibilities of a chef de partie?
Preparing, cooking and presenting dishes within your specific section;
Training and managing any chefs working under you;
Assisting the sous chef and head chef in the development of new dishes and menus;
Essentially following all health and safety procedures;
Being aware of profit margins and keeping waste to a minimum.
Be familiar with the company’s policies for What is a chef de partie responsibilities.
What Does A Chef De Partie Do?
Demi CDP
Assisting the chef de partie on their specific sections. The next step from a commis chef.
CDP
In charge of a specific section within the kitchen.
Senior CDP
This is a position mainly in large establishments, the senior will have experience in running all sections within the kitchen.
What Is The Average UK Salary?
As one of the lower-level jobs within an establishment and the salary reflects this a chef de partie will be one of the lower paid members of the team.
Also, they may have additional compensation such as tips.
As with most kitchen positions salaries will depend greatly on the establishment, the location and the previous experience of the chef.
Below is the average salary of a chef de partie within the UK:
Demi CDP £17000 – £21000 Average salary = £19000
CDP £19000 – £23000 Average salary = £20500
Senior CDP £19000 – £25000 Average salary = £21000
Kitchen Positions And Responsibilities
A CDP is a chef within the kitchen brigade that will be working on the various sections. The kitchen positions are above the commis chef and below the sous chef.
There are variously sized kitchen brigades depending on the size of the workplace. Also, a 5-star hotel in central London will have a much larger kitchen brigade than a gastropub in the Cotswolds.
After you have gained experience you also have the opportunity of becoming a personal or private chef.
Furthermore, the five-star hotels may have several restaurants serving food, this may be a fine dining restaurant, a bar/casual dining restaurant, a banqueting restaurant and a staff food restaurant.
Each of these restaurants will have their own kitchen team.
Whereas the smaller workplaces will have only one restaurant and a single kitchen team.
The Main Kitchen Positions
Vegetable / Garnish Section
The vegetable/garnish section is the section preparing the vegetables and garnishes for dishes. This may be the making of mashed potato or washing of spinach.
This section may have a chef de partie working on it, in the higher quality and larger kitchens although a strong commis chef or demi chef de partie may be working this section in the smaller brigades.
Larder / Cold Starters
The larder section is the section preparing the salads and cold starters. There may be some heating of foods required. However hot starters such as soups will be served from the sauce/ hot section.
A chef de partie will be working and running this section and may have a commis chef too.
Also in the smaller-sized kitchen brigades, the larder section may also be preparing and serving the desserts.
In this case, the larder section will need a strong chef de partie who is well-organised.
Sauce / Meat
The sauce section will be preparing and cooking the meats, stocks, soups, sauces and hot starters. The sauce section may have a number of chefs working on it depending on the restaurant’s size.
The hot section is for chefs de parties with established cooking skills and a few years of good experience, this will be the hottest section of the kitchen to work on due to the cooking equipment.
Fish
The fish section will be the preparing and cooking of the fish, which may include fish starters and will have a CDP working the section.
While in the smaller kitchen brigades, the fish prep and cooking may be done in the sauce/meat section.
Grill
The grill section can be part of the saucer section, with a strong CDP working the section. A grill section will be mainly used in large restaurants with high customer turnover.
Pastry
The pastry section can vary in size depending on the size and quality of the kitchen. In the smaller kitchens, the pastry work will be done by the chef de parties on larder and in the larger kitchens a full pastry team will be needed.
And as a result, this will include a head pastry chef and a number of chef de parties as needed.
Floater
The floater is a role that will be working due to busy times and will help out on whichever section needs jobs to be completed at that moment.
Tips For Applying For The Position
There are various positions within a kitchen bigade, this will depend on the size and quality of the kitchen.
It is a good idea to know how a kitchen operates when applying for a chef de partie job.
Finally, in some kitchens, the CDPs will be rotated around the sections every few months or on menu changes.
In others, they may find themselves on the larder section for a long period of time. Whatever path you have set for your career there will be a suitable kitchen for you to achieve your goals.
